Reviews of Scent

Theo Fennell’s Scent is an enormous rose centered oriental scent that barges into the building and takes no prisoners. Swoon-inducing indolic rose is evident from the very beginning, and only a well judged dose of saffron cuts its viscous languor. I’m reminded of Diptyque’s recently deceased Opone, which also opened with rose and saffron, but where Opone was dry and somewhat austere, Scent is heady, sweet, and plush. In its spicy sweetness and its use of saffron Scent also relates tangentially to Dawn Spencer Hurwitz’s Cimabue, though it’s far more floral and less of a gourmand composition. The saffron/rose accord is bolstered by sweet spices and patchouli, with vanillic notes buried deep beneath all of the baroque ornament.

Scent cruises along in this sweet, heavy oriental lane for quite some time, projecting prodigiously and leaving plenty of sillage as it goes. Because the rose rises and falls in slow, gentle waves, Scent also sustains an unusual recursive motion as it develops. In time the swaying accords reveal a soft powder, whose appearance leads the composition in a slightly drier and woodier direction. There’s a healthy dose of warm, slightly animalic musk in the base, but this only becomes perceptible once the spiced floral accord sheds some of its opacity.

While not exactly svelte or subtle, Scent manages to avoid the kind of bombast that hobbles so many similar big sweet orientals. Even so, this strikes me as a perfume for divas, a fragrance just as big and flamboyant in its way as the very different Opium, Angel, and Fracas.

Having bought this over two years ago, and having worn it infrequently (though from time to time spraying it into the air just to get a lungful) it is safe to say I have approach-avoidance issues with this perfume.
I remember chancing upon Theo Fennell’s shop in London and getting a strip (jet black!) sprayed with it and walking about undecided – a glorious burst of saffron coupled with rich oriental opulence that seemed tempting but threatened overindulgence at the same time. I kept the strip and sniffed it overnight and was amazed at how beautifully the perfume lasted and by the next morning felt a trip across the London miles was in order to get myself a bottle.
But then when it came to wearing the thing, I found its complexity became jarringly intrusive when I was under the slightest of stress, so had to wear it only when I knew I would be having a relaxed kind of day.
Among the other surprises after the brocaded saffron coupled with a Kiehl’s like white floral (lily mainly) musk of the opening was a whopping drop of cumin which gives the first hour of wear an uneasy staleness. But then, once it has receded, the full glory of this creation is revealed – that wonderful, slightly indolic sweet musk; dreamy, powdery, sandalwood; caressing balsams; dark, clotted notes like patchouli and orchid. The whole thing inflects one way, then another during the course of the wear and invites contemplation like a glass of the most miraculous red wine. I’ve found that giving it time and wearing only a couple of sprays affords me the most pleasure, and am now resolved to visiting it more often.

I was put off by the negative reviews but decided to 'buy and try'. WOW! This is a fabulous scent. Certainly not one for the girlies who rely on the latest designer 'in ' smells but an exotic classical scent for a woman! Initially a warm floral hit then mellowing into a sumptuous sexy aroma. Expensive and elegant. Timeless. I usually like Lanvin's Arpege or Chanel's 5. Bal a Versailles and Creeds Bulgarie. This is for me an equal. Keep on making it Theo, but, hopefully not too many others will catch on leaving us that love it exclusive!!!

Bought this one from a friend(as I usually do, and believe me you save a lot of money that way and get a satisfying amount of the scent), for a bargain. It is a suprising how the price of TF Scent varies....
But most of the stores sell it (EDT I mean)for couple of pounds for a big 75 ml (2.5 oz)bottle...and I saw some sites where the price raises to a very high amount of 70-130 pounds, but I guess it depends on the concentration (maybe the perfume extract is very expensive)and the special edition-like the one with the silver sleeve on the bottle...
Reading many reviews, I kinda hoped that the ''skank'' part isn't so skanky after all,cause I don't really dig skanky, animalistic (civet,castoreum,musk) scents due to the fact they develop in a very unpleasant ''beasty, dirty'' way that I don't like on me.though men loove skanky compositions, that raw, meaty, dirty, hormony smell...
and boy was I surprised there weren't any nasty components that would't appeal to my taste...
First of all this is a musky-oriental, not a chypre...maybe in a first half an hour that dominant and bright rose gives that ''chypre feeling'' to it,and is quite flowery,musky in a pleasant (but boring) way...
so i said-ok, another pleasant perfume with musk and a bit of oriental touch to it...
but I couldn't be more surprised when that divine concoction started to envelop itself and develop in a most exquisite of the florientals that I've ever smelled.yes, there are some resins here, patch for sure, but the musk is so predominant, soft and ooo yeah-sexy,that reminded me in an instant of Helmut Lang's Eau de Parfum.yes, that's it!!that is THE MUSK OF THE MUSKS!very feminine, almost unbereable silky,sexy and non offensive...
it is very close to the skin, but has a nice sillage, and as it develops, it surprises me with the facetes that it brings to the surface...
this is one hell of the floriental, a niche-like scent for strong individuals,for women that aren't affraid to be different and smell different...
so don't expect chypre perfume, but expect surprises from this great scent. B.O-no way...I don't like B.O, and when I say dirty, I'm instantly thinking of B.O.
yes, THAT IS a dirty little skunk..
but this is nothing like it. it is dark, it is mysterious and it is different....if you like H.Lang, SJP Lovely, Baghari,Rance Musc Blanc A.Provocateur....don't miss on Theo Fennell 'cause the man knows his stuff and delivers it...
strictly for the evenings out and when you want to be noticed, not in a Gucci or D&G ''seee me I'm sexy chic'' kind of way...but ''I don' care if you notice me, but YOU WILL notice me'' ladylike kind of way...
ok, that's it!!